Sounds True: Insights at the Edge

Jeff Strong is a sound researcher and percussionist whose rhythm-based therapeutic music has been used in clinical settings worldwide. With Sounds True, Jeff has created several albums of rhythmic entrainment music, including The Better Sleep Program and The Focus and Attention Program. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Jeff about the concept of brain entrainment through rhythm and how it has deep roots in tribal ceremony. They talk about the therapeutic application of this music for anxiety, ADHD, autism, and mood disorders, and explain the difference between rhythmic entrainment and "neuro beat" recordings. Finally, Jeff offers two excerpts from The Brain Shift Collection for calming and the exploration of deep meditative states. (66 minutes) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Spiritual teacher Jeff Foster shares insights on the importance of rest and embracing discomfort. He discusses the taboo topic of wanting to die and how it can lead to a deeper understanding of the self. The speakers explore identity, presence, and the practice of meditation. They emphasize the need to sit with painful emotions without judgment in order to achieve true rest.

Jonathan Foust is a longtime teacher of yoga and meditation who has guided learners at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health and the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC for more than 20 years. He is a featured presenter for Sounds True's Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Jonathan discuss the practice of body-centered inquiry—specifically the surprising ways it can be applied to pain. Jonathan explains how he has worked with body-centered inquiry to explore his own migraines, and how he has discovered a curious freedom therein. Finally, Jonathan and Tami talk about using body-centered inquiry for decision-making and interrogating the self-made obstacles to our own freedom. (61 minutes) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Patrick O'Malley is a grief counselor with more than 35 years of experience. He has written many well-regarded articles on grieving, including the namesake New York Times article that inspired his new Sounds True book Getting Grief Right: Finding Your Story of Love in the Sorrow of Loss. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Patrick discuss his unique approach to grief and how it diverts from the popularly accepted five-stage model created by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross. Patrick asserts that the Kübler-Ross model, while helpful as a foundation, can actually create an emotional cage for people as they struggle to find the acceptance and closure that they expect to end their grieving. Tami and Patrick also talk about the odd way in which the concept "closure" became entwined with grief therapy and why sharing our stories of loss can be the most important step in the process. Finally, Patrick shares his own story of loss and explains that the simple act of being compassionately heard can be the most important step toward healing. (60 minutes) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Linda Graham is a trainer, life coach, author, and ardent researcher in the fields of personal growth and the life of the mind. She's the author of Bouncing Back: Rewiring the Brain for Maximum Resilience, and with Sounds True will be one of the teachers in the Leading Edge of Psychotherapy online course. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Linda talk about recent findings in neuroscience that psychotherapists (and their patients) will find useful in the treatment of shame and anxiety. Linda explains her view of resilience—what it means to be resilient, how to cultivate the quality, and how the brain's prefrontal cortex is "the CEO" of resilience. Finally, Linda and Tami discuss the intersection of meditation and psychotherapy, including how to reconcile their contradictory aspects through the lens of modern neuroscience. (65 minutes) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

HeatherAsh Amara is a spiritual teacher and the founder of Toci, the Toltec Center of Creative Intent. Drawing from a blend of traditions including Toltec wisdom teachings, shamanism, and Native American ceremony, HeatherAsh is the author of several books and audios. With Sounds True, she has most recently published Awakening Your Inner Fire: A Step-by-Step Course to Ignite Your Passion and Create the Life You Love. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and HeatherAsh talk about bringing our innermost values to our work. They speak on contemporary society's unspoken assumption that we only have value in productivity, and how we can step outside this mindset to recognize our inherent worth. HeatherAsh describes how each of us can stoke our own inner fires, including the little-explored heart and spiritual fires. Finally, Tami and HeatherAsh discuss our "true work" in the world and how to bring a touch of the sacred to everything you do. (58 minutes) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Diane Musho Hamilton is a spiritual teacher, mediator, and group facilitator who has been studying mindfulness for more than 30 years. She is a featured presenter for A Year of Mindfulness, Sounds True's yearlong online meditation program. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Diane discuss how her experience with mindfulness has helped her to become an effective group mediator. Diane speaks on how mindfulness skills transfer to interpersonal communication and skillful relationship—especially when it comes to being able to take on someone else's perspective. Finally, Tami and Diane talk about the importance of relating to others with different views than us and how we can foster a better, more open engagement with the entirety of the world. (69 minutes) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach are two of the leading authorities on mindfulness and meditation in the West. Jack is the bestselling author and teacher widely credited with combining mindfulness with modern western psychology. Tara has been teaching meditation for more than four decades and is the author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge. In this special edition of Insights at the Edge originally recorded in 2015, Tami Simon sits down with both Jack and Tara to discuss the big insights that form the foundation of mindfulness practice. They speak on the concept of awareness itself and how to distinguish "awareness" from "thinking." Tara and Jack share some of the everyday benefits of a meditation practice, including personal clarity and more conscious relationships. Finally, Jack, Tara, and Tami have a frank conversation on how awareness training could affect the state of the world. (60 minutes) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wendy Strgar is an award-winning entrepreneur, writer, and the founder of the renowned organic personal care product company Good Clean Love. With Sounds True, she has published Sex That Works: An Intimate Guide to Awakening Your Erotic Life. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Wendy about Sex That Works—particularly the insights it draws from Wendy's work as a sexual health educator and her own 30 years of marriage. They talk about the most common obstacles to achieving personal sexual harmony and what it takes to keep a long-term relationship sexually satisfying. Wendy describes her own journey to the creation of Good Clean Love and how she discovered her calling as a "loveologist." Finally, Tami and Wendy discuss what is to have a healthy fantasy life and why true sexual freedom is taking responsibility for one's own needs. (66 minutes) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

LiYana Silver is a life coach and public speaker devoted to helping women embrace their innate feminine strengths in every area of their lives. With Sounds True, she has released the new book Feminine Genius: The Provocative Path to Waking Up and Turning On the Wisdom of Being a Woman. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, LiYana and Tami Simon talk about the importance of listening to one's deepest inner intuition—your own inner "Oracle," and LiYana guides listeners through a meditation to invoke this Oracle. Tami and LiYana also speak on enduring difficult times and the lessons contained in the dark patches of our lives, including LiYana's own "Year of Hell." Finally, they discuss the necessity of accepting pleasure and how to relate to other women in their own unique embodiments of Feminine Genius. (65 minutes) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.